Porous artificial fingernail and method for applying the same

ABSTRACT

An artificial fingernail/extension for attachment to a natural fingernail includes a flexible polyethylene body that is flexible to conform to the shape of the nail and having a lower surface contacting the upper surface of a natural fingernail over the activator. The body is sized to provide a forward extension from the natural fingernail and the body. The body is made of a porous material that wicks applied adhesive from the top surface of the body to the lower surface of the body to bond to the fingernail. The polyethylene body can be provided on a strip of material carrying a plurality of material bodies separated by perforations and having scallops formed therein.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to a material suitable for use on human fingernails, and more particularly to such a material which is porous and able to support an integrated bond between it and the natural fingernail.

Various artificial fingernail compositions have been proposed for use as cosmetic applications. Popular among these are acrylic nails, linen or silk applications, and fiberglass. To these are applied nail polish basecoats, colored/clear nail polish such as enamels, and/or nail polish topcoats. In general, these nail compositions are applied to the surfaces of nails to beautify the nails and hands. The reason many women choose artificial nails and/or extensions is to add strength to the natural nail and make it more durable, thereby reducing the possibility of breakage. Since the artificial nails and/or extensions are much stronger than natural nails, the coated film of nail enamel is virtually free from damage such as chipping and peeling.

However, these artificial nails and/or extensions are themselves not free from problems. Conventionally, these products are adhesively applied directly onto the majority of the upper exposed surface of the human fingernail. In doing this, often air pockets form between the artificial nail/extension and the human fingernail. These air pockets cause the artificial nail to lift off the surface of the natural fingernail. This is aesthetically displeasing and annoying to the wearer. The artificial nail or extension must immediately be repaired by a manicurist or nail technician. Further, if the artificial nail remains on with the air pockets captured therebetween, the problem may be more serious than an aesthetic one—bacteria and fungus can collect in the air pockets, thereby risking damage to the natural nail and/or cuticle.

Several solutions have heretofore been posed. Among these is U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,935 issued to Hokama. This patent discloses an artificial nail with holes for receiving liquid adhesive, having as its object to provide better locking to the human nail. However, problems have been encountered with this solution. Hokama discloses a head formed from cured adhesive, akin to a rivet head, extending beyond the holes to help provide the locking and prevent air pockets. However, as stated above, time is of the essence, and it is likely that the manicurist will not have the time and/or be able to locate the adhesive heads while finishing the nail (removing ridges, smoothing and preparing the surface, etc.) by filing. As such, the adhesive heads will most likely become filed away, thereby not achieving the inventor's objective. Further, even if the heads remain, they may not satisfactorily prevent the formation of air pockets in areas remote from the holes.

Thus, it would be desirable to provide an artificial nail and/or extension which promotes a substantially fully integrated bond between the artificial nail and the human fingernail, thereby advantageously helping to prevent nail “lift-off” and/or pockets of bacteria or infection. It would be desirable to provide such an artificial nail which is easy to manipulate and can be correctly applied quickly and efficiently, thus saving both the manicurist and the customer from an excess of time and/or distress.

SUMMARY

The present artificial fingernail addresses the aforementioned concerns. The present invention comprises an artificial fingernail/extension for attachment to a natural fingernail. The artificial nail comprises a flexible polyethylene body having an upper surface and a lower surface, the lower surface of the artificial nail contacts the upper surface of the natural fingernail. The body is sized to provide a forward extension from the natural fingernail. The artificial fingernail further comprises a plurality of pores dispersed throughout the body, the pores adapted to quickly wick liquid adhesive throughout the body, from the body upper surface toward the body lower surface, wherein the adhesive contacts substantially the entire upper fingernail surface in contact with the body lower surface to form an integral bond therebetween. An activator can be first applied to the body to react with adhesive to adhere the flexible body to the natural fingernail.

A method for applying an artificial fingernail/extension onto a natural fingernail having an upper surface comprises providing a flexible polyethylene body having a lower surface and preparing the natural fingernail which may include filing and shaping. The natural nail is then sprayed or coated with a thin layer of an activator. The flexible body is sprayed or otherwise coated with an activator and then applied to the natural fingernail wherein the body is flexibly conformable to the upper surface of the natural fingernail. The method further comprises applying a liquid adhesive into the upper surface of the flexible applied on the fingernail, absorbing the liquid adhesive from the upper surface of the body to the lower surface with the liquid adhesive, filing the surface of the adhesively attached body and then applying one of a silk, linen, acrylic, fiberglass and nylon material over the filed surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Other features and advantages of the present artificial nail will become apparent by reference to the following detailed description and drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the artificial fingernail/extension showing a subsequent laminate applied thereon;

FIG. 2 is a cutaway, exploded cross sectional view of the artificial nail showing some exemplary pores; and

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of one embodiment of a sheet of polyethylene material used for the artificial nail/extension;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of another embodiment of the sheet of polyethylene material used for the artificial nail/extension;

FIG. 5 is an exploded view showing the orientation a body of the polyethylene material applied onto a natural nail; and

FIG. 6 is a flow chart of the steps for applying the artificial fingernail/extension.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, an artificial nail/extension of the present invention is designated generally as 10. Artificial fingernail/extension 10 is for attachment to a natural fingernail 12 having an upper surface 14. The artificial nail comprises a flexible polyethylene body 16 having an upper surface 18 and a lower surface 20, the lower surface 20 contacting the natural fingernail upper surface 14. The body 16 is sized to provide a forward extension 22 from the natural fingernail 12.

The nail/extension 10 may further comprise a plurality of pores 24 dispersed throughout body 16, the pores 24 are adapted to quickly wick a liquid activator and/or adhesive (not shown) throughout the body 16, from the body upper surface 18 to the body lower surface 20, wherein the activator and adhesive contacts substantially the entire upper fingernail surface 14 which is in contact with the body lower surface 20. This forms an integral bond therebetween. It is to be understood that the pores 24 may be of any suitable size, however, in the preferred embodiment, the pores 24 range in size between about 5 microns and about 50 microns with about 30% to about 70% void space therebetween. In the illustrated embodiment a pore size of 8 microns is disclosed. In FIGS. 1 and 2, pores 24 have been shown greatly exaggerated in size for illustrative purposes.

It is to be understood that the body 16 may have any suitable thickness as desired and/or necessary. However, in one aspect, the body 16 has a thickness ranging between about 0.07 mm and about 0.50 mm. In another aspect, the body 16 has a thickness ranging between about 0.07 mm to about 0.20 mm. In the illustrated aspect, the body 16 has a thickness of 0.25 mm (+or −5%). It is to be further understood that the body 16 may be formed from any suitable polymeric material; however, in the preferred embodiment, a body or membrane 16 is formed from fused spherical particles of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene with stable hydrophilic properties. One such suitable polymeric material is commercially available from Porex Technologies Corporation in Fairburn, Ga. under the designation Lateral-Flo™ membrane. Both sides of the sheets are smooth with a plastic feel. A 1.0 inch disc sample size of this material absorbs 1 drop of colored water in fewer than 10 seconds.

Although this material can be manufactured in sheets of 30 cm by 20 cm or rolls of 25 mm by 100 M, it is preferred to have the material precut into narrow strips 30 a, 30 b having a width of less than an inch. It is also preferable to have a plurality of arcuate or V-shaped scalloped edges 26 a cut along one lateral edge as shown in FIG. 3. The scalloped edges 26 a can meet edge-to-edge as shown in FIG. 3 or have straight lateral edge (not shown) between each scallop 26 a. The scalloped edges 26 a are intended for positioning over the nail bed adjacent the cuticle to allow the nail bed to breath. The forward extension 22 extends beyond the scalloped edges 26 a. Each single body 16 can be identified in the narrow strip body 30 a by perforations or indentations 28 a between each individual nail body 16. The perforations or indentations 28 a allow for easy separation of an individual body 16 from the strip 30 a.

As an alternative, the narrow strips 30 b of the material can have a width of approximately the width of the average natural fingernail 12. One longitudinal edge 29 has an arcuate or V-shaped perforation or indentation 28 b cut therein. Similarly shaped perforations or indentations 28 b are spaced along the lateral edges of the narrow strip 30 b to allow for easy removal of individual nail bodies 16 from the strip 30 b. The spacing between perforations 28 b defines the length of the forward extension 22 of each nail body 16. As a further alternative, two or more narrow strips 30 b can be connected along the lateral edge 31 of the strip 30 b, as shown in phantom. The multiple narrow strips 30 b can be connected to each other by a linear perforation or indentation 28 c.

As an additional aspect, the narrow strips 30 a, 30 b or the individual nail bodies 16 can be die-cut to create pre-formed nail tips with a radius that conforms to the natural nail 12 with at least a curvature in one of the lateral and longitudinal directions as shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5. Preferably both a lateral and longitudinal curvature to conform to the contour of the natural fingernail 12. Therefore, in the case when using the narrow strips 30 a and 30 b, the individual nail bodies 16 formed between perforations 28 a and 28 b will each have at least a lateral or longitudinal curvature formed therein.

As shown in FIG. 2, body 16 is flexibly conformable to the upper surface 14 of the natural fingernail 12. This is illustrated in that the natural fingernail upper surface 14 has a plurality of ridges 36 thereon. Flexible body 16 conforms to the ridges 36 of the natural nail 12. The ridges 36 can facilitate the adhesive bonding of the body 16 to the natural fingernail 12.

To further illustrate the present artificial nail, the following exemplary methods are given. It is to be understood that these exemplary methods are provided for illustrative purposes and are not to be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention.

A method for applying the artificial fingernail/extension 10, which can also include a wrap, onto natural fingernail 12 comprises the step of preparing (step 40) the upper surface 14 of the natural fingernail 12 to remove natural oils and slightly roughen the surface to form the ridges 36 so that the material body will adhere on the natural nail 12. One means for preparing the natural fingernail is to file and shape the nail 12. An activator may then be sprayed or coated in a thin layer over the natural fingernail 12.

The method also includes preparing the natural body (step 42). The material body 16 may be prepackaged as individually separated bodies or the bodies can be provided on strips 30 a, 30 b as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The manicurist can remove an individual nail body 16 along the perforations 28 a, 28 b, or 28 c of the material body strip 16 a. If the nail body 16 does not already include a scalloped edge 26 a, 26 b, the manicurist can provide the scalloped edge by manually tearing a notch from one end of the body 16 or by cutting the notch with scissors to form the scalloped edge 26 a, 26 b. The body 16 is treated with an activator to allow the body 16 to react with adhesive to bond the material body 16 to the natural nail 12. The manicurist can treat the body 16 with the activator through a spray or by soaking the body 16 in the activator solution. As an alternative, the body 16 can be pre-treated with the activator at the manufacturer. The treated flexible body 16 is then laid over (step 44) the natural fingernail 12 and aligned on the fingernail 12 so that the scalloped edge 26 a, 26 b lays adjacent to the cuticle.

An adequate amount of liquid adhesive such as ethyl-2-cyanoacrylate combined with 0 to 1.0 percent hydroquinone is applied (step 46) onto upper surface 18 of flexible polymeric body 16 with a portion of the lower surface 20 contacting the natural fingernail upper surface 14. As stated supra, the body 16 is sized to provide a forward extension 22 from the natural fingernail 12 and the body 16 has a plurality of pores 24 dispersed therethrough. The pores 24 are adapted to quickly wick the liquid adhesive throughout the body 16, from the body upper surface 18 toward the body lower surface 20 and the activator, wherein the amount of adhesive applied is sufficient to contact substantially the entire upper fingernail surface 14 in contact with the body lower surface 20 to form an integral bond therebetween.

The manicurist may position additional liquid adhesive on that portion of the upper surface 18 corresponding to the forward extending portion 22 of body 16 in order to harden the extending portion 22 to allow for shaping the body 16 with a scissors and/or nail file before another layer of material is applied (step 48). The second layer of material can include conventional material such as silk, linen, acrylic, fiberglass, etc. Liquid adhesive will quickly disperse throughout the polyethylene body 16 with small spot applications, thereby providing further hardening to the artificial fingernail/extension 10, and contributing to the integral bond between the body lower surface 20 and the upper fingernail surface 14.

Shaping the artificial nail 10 may further comprise the step of filing the upper surface 18 of the adhesively attached body 16. This step removes any ridges formed between the artificial nail 10 and fingernail 12, and may also prepare the surface 18 for further applications 32 such as acrylics, linen, silk, bonded fiberglass, and the like as generally known in the art (step 50). If desired, to these applications 30 may be applied one or more layers of nail polish 32. 

1. An artificial fingernail/extension for attachment to a natural fingernail having an upper surface, the artificial nail comprising: a flexible polyethylene body having an upper surface and a lower surface and flexible to conform to the shape of the nail, the lower surface contacting the natural fingernail upper surface, the body sized to provide a forward extension from the natural fingernail; a plurality of pores dispersed throughout the body; and a liquid adhesive contacting substantially the entire upper body, wherein the pores are adapted to quickly absorb the liquid adhesive throughout the body from the body upper surface to the body lower surface.
 2. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the body is treated with an activator.
 3. The artificial fingernail of claim 2, wherein the body is pretreated with the activator by the manufacturer.
 4. The artificial fingernail of claim 2, wherein the activator is sprayed on the body, soaking the body.
 5. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the body has a thickness between about 0.07 mm to about 0.50 mm.
 6. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the body has a thickness between about 0.07 mm to about 0.20 mm.
 7. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the body is formed from a porous polyethylene material.
 8. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the pores range in size between 5 microns and about 50 microns.
 9. An artificial fingernail/extension for attachment to a natural fingernail having an upper surface, the artificial nail comprising: a flexible polyethylene body having an upper surface and a lower surface and flexible to conform to the shape of the nail, the lower surface contacting the natural fingernail upper surface, the body sized to provide a forward extension from the natural fingernail, wherein the body is located on a strip of material configured for providing multiple bodies thereon; and a plurality of pores dispersed through the body,
 10. The artificial fingernail of claim 9, wherein each body is preformed and identified with perforations on the strip.
 11. The artificial fingernail of claim 10, wherein each body has scalloped edges.
 12. The artificial fingernail of claim 9, wherein each body is preformed with a curvature.
 13. The artificial fingernail of claim 12, wherein each body has scalloped edges.
 14. The artificial fingernail of claim 9, wherein the strip of material for the body has a thickness ranging between 0.07 mm and 0.50 mm.
 15. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the body has a thickness between about 0.07 mm to about 0.20 mm.
 16. The artificial fingernail of claim 1, wherein the strip of material for the body is formed from a porous polyethylene material.
 17. The artificial fingernail of claim 9, wherein the pores range in size between 5 microns and about 50 microns.
 18. A method for applying an artificial fingernail/extension onto a natural fingernail having an upper surface, the method comprising the steps of: providing a flexible polyethylene body having a lower surface and upper surface; preparing the natural fingernail by shaping the upper surface of the natural fingernail; applying an activator to the natural fingernail bed; applying an activator to the flexible body; applying the flexible polyethylene body to the natural fingernail body, said body flexibly conformable to the upper surface of the natural fingernail and having a plurality of pores dispersed therethrough adapted to quickly absorb liquid material throughout the body from the body upper surface to the body lower surface; applying an amount of liquid adhesive into the upper surface of the flexible polyethylene body and reacting with the activator; absorbing the liquid adhesive from the upper surface of the body to the lower surface of the body through the plurality of pores and contacting substantially the entire upper fingernail surface with the liquid adhesive; filing the surface of the adhesively attached body; and applying one of a silk, linen, acrylic, fiberglass, and nylon over the filed surface.
 19. The method of claim 18, wherein the steps of providing a flexible polyethylene body includes the steps of: detaching a single body from a plurality of bodies on a strip of the polyethylene material.
 20. The method of claim 19 wherein the step of providing a flexible polyethylene body further includes the step of: identifying each body with a perforation of the periphery of each body.
 21. The method of claim 20 wherein the step of providing a flexible polymeric body further includes the step of: scalloping a peripheral edge of each body.
 22. The method of claim 19, wherein the step of applying the polyethylene body to the natural fingernail includes aligning a scalloped edge adjacent to the cuticle of the natural fingernail. 